A Fine Day
by Dark Sadistic Angel
Summary: Horror story. But no warnings. This is a reload. Heero and Duo go for a walk, and Heero is called by something to an area that looks familiar....


A Fine Day

_Possible 1+2_ Friendship?  
Horror story. But no warnings. This is a reload.

By DSA

It was a fine day. The sky was perfect; its bright clear blue hiding the war taking place below and above it. In the artificial bubble of poised civilisation, there were no battles. Everything was perfect. Trimmed, paved gardens were in full flower and the birds in the trees were chirping madly away. It was almost like the ongoing war was a lie. But he knew it wasn't. As Heero walked along the footpath in false peace, his eyes automatically scanned around him for danger.

Oddly enough for the built-up mixture of suburb and city he was walking in, the air was startling fresh. A cool, westward breeze brought a strong scent of meadow flowers with it. For some reason, the scent triggered a feeling of loss within him. He shrugged the feeling off. He had no time for sentiment. He had to get to school. He was not, however, an ordinary school boy studying for a future; he was a killer in hiding.

As he turned a corner, he came face to a high, wire fence. He blinked and stepped back. He must have taken the wrong turn somewhere. This was not the way to the school campus. He frowned. He had studied the map to the new school and investigated the area beforehand. He could have sworn he had followed the right route.

'Oy Heero! Where are you going? The campus's that way,' a distant voice called out to him.

He flinched. Duo. The other young agent had been assigned with him for the mission's duration. Inwardly he cursed at being caught losing his way. He knew Duo would ruthlessly tease him later about it. He turned his body and moved to leave. The back of his neck suddenly prickled. Something cold brushed against his upper arm. Heero jerked back and swung around. There was no one there. He massaged his arm, bemused. It had felt like someone had lightly clasped his arm before.

He looked at the fence. Behind the fence waved a field of overgrown grass, seemingly beckoning him over with their swaying. His eye lashes lowered as he became hypnotised by the gentle movement. Unconsciously, he moved several steps forward. He clutched at the twisted fence wires. Without sparing a thought as to why, Heero scaled the fence rapidly and dropped down to the other side.

The perfume-like smell of wild flowers grew stronger in the air. Nostalgia knotted his stomach. He remembered the scent. It was.... His heart lurched and twisted. Was it the same field? No. That would be impossible! But yet.  
Heero began running. His eyes took in the shifting green. It were exactly the colour of the field he remembered. The scattered yellow flowers too were all too familiar. Even the distant, hazy apartment buildings beyond the horizon was the same. Impossible, his mind whispered. It couldn't be the same place. And even if it was, it couldn't have stayed the same.

Not after the fiery explosion he had set off so long ago. The explosion had encompassed the whole entire meadow and its surrounding apartments into a huge, burning mess. Nothing had been left. It had been his not been his first mission, but it had been the first mission he had stained his hands with innocent blood. The mission had replayed in his mind for years, never fading. Was he dreaming? Or had he actually stepped into the past again?

No. It couldn't be.

But it felt real. More real than the numerous nightmares that plagued his sleep. Everything was the same, the whole feel of the place was the that of the past. All that was missing was...

A girl appeared before him a short distance away. She looked to be about seven, a child wearing a perfect white dress. Her face was shield from his disbelieving eyes by a large, wide brimmed hat also the colour of white. Trailing behind her bounced an enthusiastic puppy. Its long brown ears flapped as it excitedly sniffed around the dirt. It paused and lingered at a mound. It whined suddenly and barked.

'What is it Mary?'

His heart stopped. It wasn't possible, yet it was. Irrational hope surged in him. He could save the little girl! She didn't have to die. He could undo his mistake. He unconsciously staggered forward towards the girl and her puppy, his movements almost drunk.

'Heero! Don't!'

Duo's voice.

'What do you want?!' Heero turned his head and snarled.

The long-hair boy almost collided with him as he skidded to an awkward stop before him. He grabbed Heero's arm.

'Don't go there!'

'Leave me alone!'

'No.' Duo's grip tightened. He attempted to pull Heero towards him.

Heero violently shook off Duo's hold.

'I said; leave me alone!' He turned back, then froze.

There was nothing there. The girl and her puppy were gone. Just metres ahead of him instead was a narrow road. It crawled up an unfamiliar steep slope, through a row of stunted houses towards a distant cross junction. There was nothing he recognised in the view before him. The tiny branch of traffic lights at the junction blinked orange at him before turning red. The stench of car fumes drifted down from the main road and irritated his throat and nose.

'What the...' his voice trailed off.

Duo let out a sigh of relief.

'It's over. Damn, that was close. Any further and you would have really crossed past the border to over "there".'

'What do you mean by... "there"?'

'You don't want to know. Even the God of Death, Shinigami, himself doesn't want to know. All you need to is that you mustn't go there. Otherwise... very, very bad things will happen. I didn't expect you to be able to see the gateway to "there", but you're really full of surprises, Heero- only the truly guilty can see the it.' Duo gave a short bark of laughter. 'Who would have thought that even you could feel guilt too? Heh heh.'

He stared at the twisted mask of humour upon the other young boy's face. Duo made no sense to Heero. Neither did the event. But it seemed that it did to Duo. He shivered. Somehow, he sensed he was better off not understanding. He had no urge to understand the insanity in the other agent. Heero turned away and shoved his hands into his jean pockets. He would not speculate. He would forget. He looked up. The sky was getting cloudy. Already the previously cool wind had turned chilly.

'Let's go Duo'

He pretended not to notice the quiver in his voice. Heero began to move rapidly, almost at a run, away from the place. He could hear Duo following him, but he did not check to see. He was half afraid that the soft, scurrying footsteps behind him was someone, or something else.

'Heero...'

'What?' He kept his eyes forward.

'You can pretend to, but you won't ever forget it'

'Guilt stays.'

A faint, girlish chuckle sounded behind his ear.

Fin.


End file.
